\A*void"ance\, n.
1. The act of annulling; annulment.
2. The act of becoming vacant, or the state of being vacant;
-- specifically used for the state of a benefice becoming
void by the death, deprivation, or resignation of the
incumbent.
Wolsey, . . . on every avoidance of St. Peter's
chair, was sitting down therein, when suddenly some
one or other clapped in before him. --Fuller.
3. A dismissing or a quitting; removal; withdrawal.
4. The act of avoiding or shunning; keeping clear of. ``The
avoidance of pain.'' --Beattie.
5. The courts by which anything is carried off.
Avoidances and drainings of water. --Bacon.